Picking up the Pieces
by teamdereksouza247
Summary: If you like Chloe and Derek, this is the story for you! DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE DARKEST POWER SERIES! Please comment and review. Also, I would love suggestions for the next chapter
1. Chapter 1: Midnight

I bolted upright in bed, gasping as the nightmarish haze drifted away and reality set in. My covers were dampened with sweat and the moon was casting an eerie light through the drapes. I looked across the room at Tori, who was sleeping soundly in her nightmare-free bliss. As she snored softly, I replayed the nightmare I had been having for the past few days, always the same, not one detail faltering. As my thoughts came to a close, I shuddered. I would have to talk to someone about it, but for now I had to satisfy the needs of something else- my grumbling stomach.

I threw the covers off of myself and swung my legs over the side of the bed. A chill shot through my body as my toes came in contact with the cold floor. Damn old houses and their stupid, cold wood floors. As I stood up and took a step, the floor protested with a groan. Make that 'damn old houses with their stupid, cold and creaky wood floors'! By the time I got downstairs, I was pretty sure I had woken the whole house up. Though, as I entered the kitchen, I realized that someone else was already awake.

Derek was hunched over, rummaging through the fridge, most likely satisfying his endless hunger. I started tip-toeing towards him, hoping to have a little fun, until one of the floorboards groaned.

"Hi Chloe." Derek grunted, not even looking in my direction.

"Stupid floor." I muttered quietly.

"Nope. I smelled you when you started down the stairs. Plus, you walk almost as loud as Simon," he retorted as he turned to face me. "What are you doing up so early?" he asked, shoving a slice of deli meat into his mouth.

Walking over to where he stood, I leaned against the counter. "I had a nightmare and couldn't go back to sleep, so I came down to get something to eat."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"About what?"

"Your nightmare."

"Umm, yeah, I guess. Only if it's okay with you." I said, sighing.

"Why not." He said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Okay. Well, basically, it starts out with me in the middle of a forest. It's dead silent. Then suddenly, this screeching sound erupts from all around me. Then, hordes of zombie animals come out from the bushes, limping toward me, and I just know they're screaming at me to release them. As the noise becomes unbearable, the scene changes and I'm in another forest, sitting beside you as you're Changing. Then, I look up and see the ghostly images, only, it's not the same people. I get up and movie closer, and I realize the guy with the knife is actually Liam, and he's kicking you across the forest floor. I see that familiar glint of silver, and then I realize that I can hear you crying my name for help. But by the time it registered that you weren't a ghost, it was too late. You were k-killed right in f-front of my eyes and I never did a t-thing about it!"

By the end of the story, I was stuttering profusely, only this time it was because I was sobbing uncontrollably. Derek had his arms around me and he was whispering words of reassurance into my ear.

"It's okay." He said softly.

"No! It's not okay! What if it means something? What if it's a sign that something bad is going to happen?" I proclaimed.

"Well, when that time comes we'll figure something out. But until then, don't worry about it." He said, drying my tears and tucking a stray piece of hair behind my ear.

Disregarding his sometimes ill-tempered demeanor, Derek could be a really sweet guy. Plus, ever since he'd started Changing, puberty wasn't being so harsh on him. His acne was almost gone, his hair was hardly oily anymore, and he didn't have to worry about wearing so much deodorant. He still intimidated some with his height and muscular build, but he couldn't help that, seeing as he was a werewolf and all.

Our eyes met and I smiled, feeling a twinge of…of… well, I don't know, something good for sure. He tore his eyes from mine, and turned around to rummage in the fridge some more. Taking that as a cue, and having lost my appetite, I went back upstairs and tried to unsuccessfully go back to sleep.

I woke up the next morning with a massive headache. I had only slept for about an hour. Tori's bed was empty and I could hear faint murmuring from downstairs. As I stepped out of my room, the bathroom door down the hall swung open and Derek stepped out, hair wet, dangling in his green eyes. His head jerked up as he noticed me standing there.

"Shower's open." He grunted, turning around and walking down the stairs.

I did what I needed to in the bathroom and then followed suit. As I entered the kitchen the smell of eggs and bacon engulfed me, making my mouth water.

"Chloe! Come get something to eat. Andrew cooked us breakfast!" Simon said exuberantly.

"Good morning, Chloe" said Andrew.

"Morning," I said stifling back a yawn.

I took a seat between Tori and Simon. Across the table, Derek was practically swallowing his breakfast.

"Geez, wolf boy. Chew much?" Tori said with her usual snarky attitude.

A growl erupted from across the table. "I told you not to call me that!" Derek yelled as he pushed his chair back violently and stormed outside.

"What's got his tail in a bunch?" Tori said with a snort, "I am on a ro-" she cut off when she saw Simon and I glaring at her.

A few minutes went by, the _tick tock_ of the clock drumming in my ears.

"Andrew? What do you think is wrong with Derek?" I asked.

"Oh, he's probably just close to Changing again. Sometimes werewolves tend to get moody beforehand." He said.

He walked out of the room leaving me wondering what was to come.

Later that afternoon I ran into Derek in the hall. After a jumble of "Excuse me's" and "I'm sorry's" and stepping in the same direction to let the other person pass, we gave up, sighed, and started laughing. Derek spoke first.

"Look. About your nightmare. I really don't want you worrying about it. It's not a burden you need to carry." He said.

"I mean, I have a right to be at least a little bit scared by it all."

"Yes, but if it really is a sign or something was going to happen to me, it's not like you could keep it from occurring. Besides, it's not like your life would be worse without me." He stated.

_If only he knew how wrong he was_. Just then I heard Simon call my name followed by his loud footsteps coming up the stairs. I turned to look at him.

"There you are! Do you want to work on the comic book?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure. I'll meet you downstairs in a second. I just have to finish talking with…" As I turned around, I heard a door close. "…Derek." I said defeatedly as my shoulders slumped.

"Sorry, Chloe. I don't know what's with him. He's been acting like that for the past few days." He said quietly.

"It's okay. Let's go." I said, heading downstairs.


	2. Chapter 2: Reunion

That evening I laid in bed, listening to the wind whistling outside. Everyone else was downstairs, with the exception of Derek who decided to take a jog after another incident with 'Little Miss Drama Queen' at dinner. Let's just say, it started with another 'wolf boy' retort, and ended with Tori wearing her lasagna.

So I decided to escape to my room to be alone, which wouldn't last long seeing as the she-devil herself shared the room with me. Oh joy. I turned the radio on and scanned for a decent channel. Nothing but static. I turned the radio off. As I resorted to counting the number of clicks the fan made as it turned, an ice cold breeze swept over me.

I bolted up. The drapes shook as a tinkling laugh rang out and floated melodically in the air.

"Hello?" I called out. "Anybody there?"

In the corner of the room a faint light appeared and vanished. It happened again on the other side of the room.

"Chloe…get…through." The voice muttered.

I scratched my head, trying to decipher what the ghost was trying to say.

"Chloe…Liz…can't…contact."

At the mention of Liz, I put two and two together. "Liz, hold on one second. I'll pull you through." I closed my eyes and imagined Liz grabbing my hand as I pulled her through an invisible barrier.

"Chloe! It's so great to see you!" Liz shouted.

I opened my eyes and there stood Liz in her Mickey Mouse nightgown. Her purple and orange giraffe socks were down at her ankles and her blonde hair hung limp around her face. She giggled excitedly.

"Where have you been? Did you go see your Nana?" I asked.

"Yeah! She was so happy to see me. But, then of course I had to explain exactly why I was there. I told her everything, from my last night at Lyle House up to when I left you. By the end, she was crying and she actually threw her cane! And it went right through this guy's head. It was pretty funny. Made her stop crying at least." She said staring absentmindedly at the floor. She looked up at me. "So, what about you? What happened after I left?" she asked taking a seat on my bed.

I started. "Well…" and explained everything, from raising the homeless guy at the warehouse, up to when she had arrived. "…so now, we have to stay here until we decide our plan of action."

Liz's mouth hung open in shock. "So, wait, you walked all the way to Albany …with Derek?"

I laughed and shook my head. "I told you that whole story and you wanted to ask me that?"

"Well, ten minutes is bad enough with him. A whole day! I can't even imagine how many 'Let's Be a Total Jerk' awards he would win in that amount of time. Plus…" she said, lowering her voice to a whisper. "He's so…scary. And ugly." She said shuddering.

"Come on. He's not that bad. Surprisingly, he was really nice to me that whole time. And let me just say in his defense, that his appearance factor has gone up quite a few notches." I said flirtingly, waggling my eyebrows a bit.

"Yeah right. Like that would ever be possible for Frankenstein." She jabbed, waving her hand through the air dismissively.

"You wanna see for yourself? He went on a jog about thirty minutes ago. If my timing is correct, he should be entering the door right…now!" I said

We heard a door downstairs open and then slam even louder.

She looked at me, almost waiting for permission to go. I gave a nod towards the door and she disappeared. Twenty seconds later, she popped back into the room right next to my bed, almost giving me a heart attack.

"Oh. My. Gosh. Are you serious? What happened to him? He looks so…so good!" she said excitedly. "So, has he like, stopped being a total jerk to everyone?" she asked.

"He's nice to Simon. That's a given. He's really nice to me, but Tori, not so much. She still has enough attitude to drive him off the edge. And he's kind of standoffish to Andrew, but I think that's only because he knows that Andrew is afraid of him."

She crossed her arms. "Hmm."

"Hmm, what?"

"I think Mr. Brand New has a crush!" she said giggling gleefully.

"On who?"

"You, silly!" she said pointing at me.

I scoffed at the thought. Derek liking me? "That's impossible. He'd never go for a girl like me. He—"

"A girl like you? What's that supposed to mean? Didn't you say you guys ran into a couple of werewolves that threatened to hurt you?" she asked.

"Yeah, but—" I said, getting cut off again.

"And how did he react to that?"

"Well, first he growled. And then when they tried to come at me, he put his arm around me, and then…" That's when it hit me as hard a brick. I looked up at Liz, eyes wide with shock.

"Uh-huh." She said, hands on her hips as she nodded her head matter-of-factly. "Now you know his tail wags a little harder for you." She said in a cutesy voice.

I laughed and then proceeded to throw a pillow at her. We all know that epically failed. It went right through her and we both started giggling uncontrollably.

"What are you doing?" a snarky voice snapped.

I looked up to see Tori standing in the doorway.

"You're such a freak!" she snapped, crossing the room to her bed.

"Nice to see you too, Tori. I see you have a clean shirt on." I said.

She shot me a glare so intense it could've melted glass. I had almost forgotten the other person in the room with us.

"Tell her I said 'hi'." Liz said.

I looked at her and mouthed 'what?'.

"It's okay. Tell her." She said earnestly.

I turned to look across the room. "Umm, Tori?"

"What?" she snapped.

"Liz says hello." I said shyly.

Tori looked up, eyes wide with shock. "Is she here? Liz?" she stood up and started looking around making a total fool of herself.

"She's over here Tori." I said pointing to where Liz was standing.

So, I spent the rest of the night talking for Liz as she and Tori had one meaningless conversation after another.


	3. Chapter 3: Changes and Temptations

I woke abruptly from the same nightmare as before, tears running down my cheeks. Looking around as I wiped them away, I saw the alarm clock said one in the morning. I heard a door close, followed by quick footsteps coming down the hall. Thinking that someone was just going to the bathroom, I began to lie back down and go to sleep. That is, until I heard my bedroom door open.

"Chloe!" someone whispered urgently.

"Who is it?"

"It's me!" Derek grunted as his footsteps got closer. "I need your help." When he stepped out of the darkness I saw what he was talking about.

His hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat and his muscles had already started to spasm slightly. Without questioning him, I jumped out of bed, grabbed his hand, and started downstairs. When we got outside, we found a place in the woods that was close enough to the house, but far away enough that nobody would hear anything. I took a seat on the ground. This time though, instead of going behind a bush, Derek stripped down to his boxers right in front of me. I couldn't help but not look.

When he turned around I looked away and fiddled with a piece of lint on my pajama pants. He lowered himself to the ground, getting on his hands and knees. He glanced over at me, and his eyes bored into mine, almost seeming to say "Don't leave me!"

Not meaning to, I blurted out, "I'm not going anywhere."

He smiled at me. "Thank y-"

His words turned into a howl of pain as his bones started cracking and shifting. I winced at every sound. I moved closer to him and, like the last time, placed my hand on his back as I told him that it was going to be okay. Then I felt that all too familiar feeling as his hair started to grow and retract on its own. Five minutes in, the forest floor was covered with vomit. By then he should have been shifting back to normal…but that night was different. His hands and feet started to form into paws and his neck began to thicken. His face lengthened as a muzzle took shape and his hair grew out one last time turning to fur. Then everything stopped and the world was quiet.

The unfamiliar creature in front of me pushed itself up onto all fours as it whimpered slightly. Its head slowly turned up to look at me.

"Derek?" I said questioningly. I knew he could understand me, but I almost didn't believe it when his head bobbed up and down in reply. I sighed in relief and flung my arms around his hairy neck. The wolf growled slightly, almost sounding like a chuckle. I giggled as I imagined Derek and his trademark scowl.

When I pulled out of the hug the cold air hit me hard as the wind began to pick up. In my hurry, I had left my sweatshirt draped on the end of my bed. I crossed my arms as my teeth began chattering ferociously. Derek cocked his head to the side and whined.

"It's ok-kay. B-besides, you c-can't go back t-to the house l-looking like that." I said forcing the words out of my mouth.

He came closer and nudged his muzzle under my arms. He pushed his head and neck through until I was pretty much hugging him again. As he rested his head on my shoulder, the heat from his body began to the melt the frigid cold away. A minute later, I had yawned more times that I could count so I decided to lie down.

Derek curled up next to me and licked my hand playfully, letting out a small whine. Then, without even thinking about what I was doing, I kissed him on the top of his head, right between his ears. As I drifted off to sleep, he rested his head on my arm and let out a deep sigh.

I awoke to the sound of rustling leaves and looked up to see Derek putting his shirt back on. The sky was a purplish grey color and the sunlight hadn't even peeped through the trees yet.

I stood up. "Good morning." I said, yawning as I stretched out the kinks in my muscles._ That's what you get for sleeping on the ground._

Derek turned around at the sound of my voice. "Good morning," he said. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. What about you though? Why-"

"I'm fine, Chloe." He said putting his hand up, "Are you okay? Truthfully?"

"Of course I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be?" I asked laughing a bit.

His shoulders tensed up. "Last night, when I Changed…were you not in the least bit scared?" he asked worriedly.

I laughed and shook my head. "Seeing you Change is the farthest thing from being scared I'll ever be. I mean, if anything I was just worried about you.' I said taking a few steps toward him. He let his shoulders slump and sighed with relief.

"Good." He said.

He continued to stare at me. Then, like a reflex, he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. Only this time, he let his hand rest on my neck and began rubbing his thumb along my jaw line. I closed my eyes in comfort, but opened them back up when he moved his hand to my cheek.

I looked into his eyes as he lowered his head and pressed his lips against mine. It was all new to me, but it felt right, so as he continued to kiss me, I threw my arms around his neck. As I pulled him closer, he shoved me against the nearest tree and I let out a gasp of pain which only made him kiss me more intensely.

My stomach felt like it was in knots, but I was happier than I had been in a long time. As he worked his way down to my neck, every kiss as soft and sweet as the last, I let out a giggle and he stepped back almost stumbling over a tree root. When I looked into his eyes I saw a hint of regret.

"Derek?" I asked tentatively.

He began clenching and unclenching his fists. Running his hand through his hair, his eyes wandered, looking for an excuse. Then he turned around and ran back to the house. I tried to follow but lost him in the thick underbrush of the forest.

When I entered the kitchen, Simon was sitting at the table eating breakfast. When he looked up at me his mouth dropped in shock.

"What?" I asked.

"Umm. You kind of look like the forest attacked you." He said laughing to himself.

I looked in the mirror and gasped in horror. I was practically caked with mud, there were leaves and bits of bark scattered throughout my hair, and my lip was bleeding. I wiped the blood away with my sleeve and began plucking the foliage from my hair.

"What's wrong with Derek?" he asked.

I pursed by lips. "What do you mean?" I asked looking at him in the mirror.

He set down his spoon and crossed his arms. "Well, he came through that door," pointing at the door I had just come through, "and about blew my eardrums out when he slammed it shut. Then, he was gone as quick as he had come without so much as a 'hello'. Weird, huh?"

"Yep. That is weird."

"Chloe?"

"Yeah?"

"Did anything happen last night?" he asked unfolding his arms and resting one on the table.

"I mean…he did Change last night…but—"

"He Changed? Geez! I miss all the fun around here!" he said banging his fist on the table. "So you guys didn't get into a fight or anything?"

"Nope." And with that I walked out of the room with high hopes of a shower and some clean clothes.

After about an hour and a half of washing my hair and scrubbing my skin raw, I stepped out of the shower. When I grabbed my towel, I realized that I had no clean clothes to put on because I had gone straight to the bathroom. I wrapped my towel around myself and planned to make a run for my room. I had a feeling that the Fates hated me because when I turned out of the bathroom, I slammed right into Derek. He moved to let me pass and as I went down the hall I could feel his eyes burning a hole into my back.

When I opened my door I looked up at him, and his face surprised me. His mouth was dropped, his eyebrows were scrunched, and his eyes—the tell tale expression—were wide with something along the lines of either pain or disgust. He wiped the expression off of his face and escaped into the bathroom, slamming the door shut. The water from the faucet turned on, and for some strange reason, I could feel a shred of my happiness going down the drain with it.


	4. Chapter 4: Shattered

So for the next two days Derek pretty much avoided me all together. He made an effort to eat outside or in another room just so he didn't have to look at me. When Simon and I asked him if he wanted to watch a movie, he replied with a gruff, 'No', and proceeded to lock himself in his room.

He was almost at his breaking limit with Tori. One night he actually threw a plate at her. A plate! Well, technically he didn't throw it at her. But it was close enough for her to deem him a, 'psycho animal' and lock herself in our room. That same night, Simon and I were sitting in the living room, working on the comic.

"Chloe?"

"Yeah?" I said, looking up at him.

"I…I've been thinking about what happened the other morning. When you came into the house and I was asking all those questions. I know what really happened. I'm not an idiot." He said, almost defensively.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, trying to hide the fact that I was blushing. Obviously, I was doing a lousy job.

"My feelings won't be hurt if you like Derek." He said.

"Wh-what, no, I-I—" I tried to find words but my stutter got in the way.

"Come on, Chloe. There's no need to lie to me. If you think that keeping what happened a secret is going to protect me, then you're wrong. Like I said, my feelings won't be hurt. I'll admit that when I first met you, I liked you. But now, you're more like a sister to me. Besides, I wouldn't try to steal a girl from Derek." He said, closing his sketchbook.

"You wouldn't be stealing, because first of all he doesn't like me and—" I stopped talking because Simon was giving me the most peculiar look.

"Right." He said, laughing and shaking his head.

"What is it with everyone thinking Derek likes me? First Liz, now you? I-I'm going up to my room." I said rushing upstairs.

When I got to the landing, Derek stepped out of the bathroom. I blew right past him, ran into my room, and slammed the door. I breathed a sigh of relief as I sat on my bed. No one else to—. My thought was cut short as the bedroom door opened. Derek stood there in all his glory, leaning against the doorframe.

"What's your problem?" he asked

"What's my problem?" I repeated, laughing. "You're my problem! I stay with you all night while you're Changing. Then, in the morning, you kiss me and then run off. What's that supposed to make me think? After that, I see you in the hall and you look at me like I'm the most hideous thing in the world. And to top it all off, you've been avoiding me for the past two days. It's like I don't even exist anymore!" I yelled.

He stood there for a minute, opening and closing his mouth trying to find the right words to say. He let out a deep sigh. "About the kiss. I…I made a mistake. I shouldn't have done it. It was wrong and I'm sorry." He said apologetically.

"Why in the world would you kiss someone you don't even like? All you're going to do is lead them on."

"I never—"

"And why did you look at me like you did in the hall?" I shouted, cutting him off.

He lunged forward, grabbing my shoulders. "I looked at you like I did because of this!" he exclaimed, turning my back towards the mirror.

He pulled my shirt down off my shoulder just enough so that I could see a huge, purple bruise going from my spine to my left shoulder.

"Is…is that from you?" I asked in horror.

"Yeah! When I pushed you against the tree! If I had kept going, I could have seriously hurt you. That's why I stopped."

"Again though, what was the point of kissing me if you don't even like me?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Chloe. Why don't you get it?" he said shaking his head. He placed his hand on my cheek, caressing it softly. "I love you. More than you can imagine." He said sweetly, his voice almost a whisper.

I looked up at him and smiled. When he saw my face, he jerked his hand away and sat on my bed.

"I shouldn't like you, though. I'm too dangerous. If something were to happen to you, I…I wouldn't be able to live without you. Let alone knowing it was my fault. Plus, I can't hurt Simon like that. He—"

"Simon's feelings won't be hurt." He rolled his eyes, so I continued. "I'm serious! His exacts words were 'My feelings won't be hurt if you like Derek', 'You're more of a sister to me than anything', and 'I would never steal a girl from Derek'."

He scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief. I lifted his chin up with my fingers, looking deep into his emerald eyes.

"That night, at Andrews, when you looked at me just like I'm looking at you right now, I saw something. Something about your eyes. They were filled with…pain. Pain that you shouldn't have been feeling." I remained silent for a moment, trying to find something else to say. "I know you're afraid that if you love me too much, you'll hurt me. Break me into a million pieces in one way or another. But, truth is, I'm already shattered. And I have been, my whole life. But now I need your help to pick up the pieces. Because being with you, it…it makes me whole again." I said, tears running down my cheeks.

He wiped my tears away. I took his hand and laced my fingers through his. "Don't worry. I've been picking up your pieces since the day I met you." He said tenderly.

Placing his hand on the back of my neck, he leaned in and kissed me, more passionately than ever. My happiness soared to new heights and I knew…I just knew that things were going to be better.


	5. Chapter 5: So Alone

Chapter 5

I woke to the comforting sound of Derek's deep breathing. His arms were wrapped around my waist and ours fingers were still laced together. The faint sunlight shone through the window, and the clock on my bedside table read 5:30 a.m. Tori's bed was empty. I sat up, making an effort not to wake Derek up. When I slid out from under his hands, he snored and rolled over. I crept out of the room and down the stairs into the living room. Tori was asleep on the couch, snoring softly. Her hair was sticking up in all directions and her makeup was smudged, as if she had been crying. Why would she be crying?

I took a step back, turning to head into the kitchen, but instead of walking into open space, I rammed right into the coffee table. A book teetered on the edge. I lunged to catch it, but it flipped off and landed with a _smack_ on the hardwood floor.

Tori woke with a start. "Huh?" she said, her groggy eyes searching for the source of the loud noise. When her eyes landed on me, she frowned. "Oh, it's you." She said bitterly.

"Why are you sleeping down here?" I asked.

She shot me a look. "Why do you think I'm sleeping down here? I came into our room last night and found you cuddling with tall, dark, and ugly. So, not wanting to interrupt your little "moment" or whatever, I came down here. Now, thanks to you, I'm going to be sore for a week." She said, a sneer developing on her face.

"Oh, well, I'm sorry." I said apologetically. "But thank you, for…you know." I said nodding my head towards the stairs.

"Yeah, whatever." She said, waving her hand dismissively in the air.

I made a move to leave the room, but she began speaking again.

"You know, I always thought that you and Simon would end up together. I got so angry at you when he would give you all the attention in the world. I had been trying so hard to get him to be with me, and then you came along. The new girl." She punctuated the last few words. "I was getting comfortable with the fact that I would probably never be able be with Simon, that you and he would skip off to the land of happily ever after. Then I walk in and find you with _him_. Of all people, you pick Derek? You turn Simon down and leave him heartbroken?

"He's not—"

"No! Let me finish!" she jabbed, cutting me off. Her eyes wandered as she thought of what else to say. "And for some reason, I thought maybe I would have a chance. That maybe he had moved on." She scoffed, shaking her head. "So, I went to talk to him, try to console him in his sadness over you or whatever. Not even close. He didn't even seem upset." Tears started running down her cheeks. "So now, I have nobody. Simon still doesn't like me, Derek hates me with a passion, and you…well I don't know about you…but all I know is that I feel…" she struggled for the right word. "…alone." She said, wiping the tears away with her sleeve.

My heart kept saying "Say something"! But my brain kept telling me "No, it's Tori, remember"?

My heart—my stupid heart—won over. "Tori?" I moved to sit next to her on the couch. "You're not alone. We're all here for the same reason. Because we drew the short straw in the gene pool. And yeah, sometimes it seems cool to be who are, but we all have to carry the same burden. Which is why we all have to be there for each other. To make sure that those burdens don't destroy us." I placed my hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "It's going to be okay. Trust me."

I stood up and began walking out of the room.

"Chloe?" I turned around. "Thank you." She said tentatively.

"Any time." I said, smiling.

I attempted to make breakfast, but instead set off the smoke alarm three times.

"Thank you Dad. For a life of luxury and other people cooking my food." I muttered under my breath. "I am completely hopeless." I said, taking burnt toast out of the oven for the umpteenth time.

"You're not completely hopeless." A low voice murmured, making my heart flutter.

I spun around and found Derek leaning against the door frame, hands in his pocket, a smile lighting up his eyes. His beautiful green eyes. I smiled back.

"Good morning. Did you sleep good?" I asked setting the pan on the counter.

He pushed off of the frame and slowly started walking towards me. "Well, if someone asked me to rate it on a scale of one to ten, let's just say my answer is…not available."

"What about a scale of one to…one hundred?" I asked laughing.

"Not available." He said, stroking my cheek.

"A thousand?" I asked, as he lowered his head to mine.

"Not—even—close." He muttered between kisses.

"I give up then. Tell me. Or write it down." I laughed.

"It's not possible to write down a number that never ends." He whispered, kissing me tenderly on the forehead. "Someone's coming. We'll talk later." He said, moving around me and zoning in on the fridge.

"Good morning." A familiar voice exclaimed.

"Morning, Simon." I said distractedly.

"I see you made breakfast Chloe." He said grimacing at the burnt toast. "I think I lost my appetite." He laughed.

"Shut up." I said, slapping him on the shoulder. "You try making food after it's been served to you for your entire life."

"Yeah, I definitely wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth. But I think I'll stick with pop tarts, just to be safe." He laughed, making his way towards the pantry.

I began throwing the blackened toast away and cleaning up all the others messes I had made. Simon began chatting with Derek who was eating a bowl of cereal.

"Morning bro. Did you sleep good?" Simon asked, sitting down at the table with his pop tarts.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, yeah I slept good. Very good actually." He said, throwing a quick glance at me. I smiled, shaking my head.

"Where's Tori at?" Simon asked, looking at me.

"When I came downstairs she was asleep on the couch, but she must have gone back up to our room."

"Why was she on the couch?"

"I don't know. Maybe she was reading and fell asleep. There was a book sitting on the coffee table."

"Tori. Reading?" Simon questioned. "Right. I'll take your word for it." He said sarcastically. I threw the dish towel at him and walked out of the room.

I took a shower, letting the warm water soothe my muscles as I reminisced about the past twelve hours. Derek loved me. How great it was to be able to say that. I got shivers whenever I saw him, and thinking about the way he held and kissed me made my stomach tie up in knots.

When I stepped out of the shower, I stood in front of the mirror. The black was almost out of my hair. Thank God. I began pulling out various drawers, searching for a hair brush. In the third one I opened, there were a dozen—and I'm pretty sure they were—condoms. A scene flashed through my mind, but I quickly shook it away.

"Shut up, Chloe!" I muttered to myself.

Hearing footsteps coming up the stairs, I quickly shut the drawer. I secured my towel around myself and opened the door. I bumped into Derek walking out of the bathroom.

"Hi." I said, blushing furiously I'm sure.

"Hi." he muttered glancing down at my towel and back up to my face, his eyebrows raising.

We stood there for a minute, and then he proceeded to stroke my cheek, sending shivers through my body.

"Derek—"

The sound of my voice set him off. He pushed me back into the bathroom, shut the door, and locked it. He turned to me, his breathing becoming ragged. Snaking one of his arms around my waist, and placing the other on my cheek, he leaned down and began kissing me. I let my lips move with his and it became more intense. He made his way toward my neck, each kiss making my head spin. Then, I started to feel my towel loosen.

"Derek?"

He grunted a reply.

"Derek!"

What's the matter?" he said, looking up at me questioningly.

"Maybe we should do this another time. Like when I have some clothes on." I said, trying to hide the fact that I was blushing.

"Oh. Yeah, that would be a good idea." He said, laughing as he stepped back. He unlocked the door and backed out, letting me through. I hurried to my room and threw one last smile at him before I shut the door.


	6. Chapter 6: Revelations

Chapter 6

Later that afternoon, Andrew called us all into the dining room. I sat down and Simon took seat next to me. Tori sat down in the chair opposite Andrew. Derek lumbered in a few seconds later and took a seat on the other side of me. He discreetly laced his fingers through mine, and softly rubbed his thumb on the back on my hand.

"Okay, guys." Andrew started. "I bet you're all wondering why I called you in here. Well, we've hidden out here long enough. I think it's time that we start figuring out what exactly we're going to do about the Edison Group."

Derek's thumb stopped moving abruptly and his hand tensed up. "Do you think it's safe? I mean it's only been three days since our last altercation. Don't you think we should give it a week, at least?" he asked.

Andrew sat up straighter in his chair. "Well, as far as we know, they've not succeeded in finding us. If they had, we would have either been captured or dead by now. And, I happen to have a source within the group. I spoke with him last night and he informed me that as far as he knew, everyone had returned to headquarters. So, yes. I think it should be fairly safe to make our move now."

"Okay, so what do we need to do?" Simon asked, his eyes lighting up.

"Well, first, we need to strengthen our offense." He said, standing up. "Follow me."

We followed him out of the dining room and down the hall to a door. He pulled a key out of his pocket, unlocked it, and swung it open. A set of stairs led down into dark nothingness. I gulped. _A basement._ He flipped a switch and a dim light flickered on. Like that would be much help. We descended the stairs and when we got to the bottom, he flipped another switch. The whole room lit up and I examined my surroundings.

"Whoa!" Simon exclaimed.

My mouth gaped open. On the wall in front of us, hung a variety of firearms, ranging from a simple hand gun, to a more sinister looking piece of machinery that I didn't know the name of.

"This is the "supernatural" arsenal. You'll find anything you need here, from firearms, to grenades, even a rocket launcher or two." He said.

"What is all this stuff for?" Tori asked, a look of horror on her face.

"Well, Tori. Sometimes your powers can fail on you, and when they do, you're going to need something to help you out. Find a few that you like and then come back upstairs to finish packing." He said, ascending the stairs.

I walked over to a table that held a variety of hand guns, and gingerly brushed my fingers across one. I picked it up and slowly turned it over in my hands, trying to get a feel for it. I felt someone step up behind me and place their hand on the small of my back.

"Are you going to be ok?" A low voice rumbled. His warm breath tickled my ear.

"Yeah. I just…I know what kind of people we're going up against. But…I just can't wrap my mind around killing someone, good or bad." I said, setting the gun back down on the table.

"Maybe you won't have to. But, if the time comes, and you can't do it, just call me. I'll be there to pull the trigger for you." He said, kissing me on the cheek. "Come on, let's go get ready." He said, picking up two hand guns. I did the same and followed him upstairs.

As I packed, I thought about what was to come. Would I find my Aunt Lauren? Would she be alive? Had Rae sided with the others? And the biggest question of all. Would we all make it out alive?

"What are you doing?" A tinkling voice asked.

I spun around to see Liz standing next to Tori's bed. "Oh, hey Liz. Um, I'm packing. Andrew told us that it's time to go."

"Where are you guys going? Can I come with?" she asked eagerly.

"We're going back to…back to the hospital, Liz." I muttered, fearing she would be upset.

"Oh. Okay. Um, well. I guess I'll see you around then." She started to fade away.

"Liz, wait!" I shouted. She reappeared. "Why don't you come with us? We could use your help. You could, you know, scout ahead and give us warnings and stuff like that." I said.

"Okay." She proclaimed ecstatically. She skipped over and took a seat on my bed.

"How's it going with Derek?" she asked, throwing a funny look my way.

I sighed. "Good. Really, really good." I said, smiling. "Simon knows. He talked to me about it, and he said he wasn't upset."

"That's good that he understands." Liz said.

"Yeah. But I still feel bad." I said, frowning.

"Yeah. He's probably happy that Derek found someone, though."

I smiled at the thought of that. _He had found me_. "And of course, Tori is angry because, even after I turned Simon down, he still doesn't like her. I found her asleep on the couch this morning and—"

"Why was she on the couch?" she asked, a confused look on her face.

"Long story. I'll explain later. Anyway. I accidentally woke her up and she started talking to me, telling me that she was upset, and that she felt alone. And you know what happened? I actually felt bad for her. So I tried to console her and she said…she said "Thank you." I said, laughing to myself. "I never thought those words would come out of her mouth."

"Well, that's a first!" Liz said, laughing. "So, when do you guys have to leave?"

"I'm guessing sometime this evening. Andrew never told us the exact time, he just told us to be packed and ready." I sat down on the bed, facing her. "Liz, I'm so scared. I hate to admit it, but I am. I'm so afraid that one of us is going to get hurt, or worse…die."

My thoughts were interrupted when someone opened the bedroom door.

Derek walked in. "Chloe. Andrew just called us all down. I think he's ready to leave." He said.

"Already?" I asked, slightly whiny.

He nodded and walked over to me. "Everything is going to okay." He said reassuringly. "Remember what I told you earlier. Just call me, and I'll be there." He kissed me on the forehead and then relocated his lips to mine. Like a reflex, my stomach knotted up and my knees got wobbly. Feeling me falter, he laced his arms around my waist and held me up to him. He ran his tongue along my bottom lip and I let him enter, let his tongue dance with mine. Remembering we weren't alone, I pulled away reluctantly. I felt the heat rise in cheeks and he must have noticed.

"What's wrong?" he asked, a worried look on his face.

"Oh, nothing. I just…we're not exactly alone, if you know what I mean." I said pointing at the bed. In response, a pillow flew through the air and hit me in the back.

I turned around. "Liz! Stop it!" I shouted.

I turned back to him, and caught him blushing a furious red. That was a first!

"Hey Liz." He said sheepishly. "Sorry about…that."

"She says hello, and it's ok. She's just mad cause I blew her cover." I said, laughing.

He laughed. "Okay, well hurry on downstairs." He said, kissing me quickly on the forehead. He turned to the bed. "It was good to see—um, hear from you." He said, catching himself. He turned around and walked out of the room, throwing me one last fleeting glance as he pulled the door shut.

"Okay, Liz. I have to go. Why don't you go ahead to the hospital and wait for us. It's going to take us a while to get there, but we need you to scout the area. I'll give a whistle when we've arrived, and then you need come and find us." I said, zipping up my duffel bag.

She nodded in reply. I hoisted the bag up onto my shoulder. "Goodbye, Liz. Thank you much. For everything." I said, smiling.

"Anytime, Chloe. Good luck." She waved goodbye and then faded away.

Downstairs, Andrew made sure we weren't taking too much with us. Tori had a hissy fit, when he told her to reconsider what she was taking. Twenty minutes later, we were all piled into the same truck we had come in, and were on our way. Derek had his arm wrapped around my shoulders and he was drawing lazy circles on my collarbone. I leaned into him and rested my head against his chest, feeling the soothing pace of his heartbeat.

Forty five minutes into the drive, we were passing through a small suburb, avoiding the largely populated areas of New York. Andrew's eyes kept flitting to the rearview mirror, a worried look on his face. Derek, being the observer he was, noticed.

"What's the matter Andrew?" he asked.

"There's a car behind us, a black SUV. It's been keeping a good distance behind, but it's been trailing us for a good ten or fifteen minutes. I—"

Andrew had been paying so much attention to the car, that he ran a red. Another car t-boned us, sending us rolling. Then the world went black.

Faint murmurs broke through the haze.

"Stand back everybody! We're cops! We know what we're doing!" an eerily familiar voice shouted.

I squinted my eyes open and saw a flash of blonde. Her face turned to look at mine. "Your Aunt Lauren isn't here to save you now." She sneered.

As the world began to fade away I heard growls of protest and the grating_ click_ of handcuffs. And then. Blackout.


	7. Chapter 7: Blackout

Chapter 7

I opened my eyes, adjusting them to the bright light. Everything was so white. Was I dead? I had to have been. This must be heaven. _Geez! God needs to turn down the fluorescents a bit._ I made an attempt to sit up, but found that I couldn't even lift my head. There was a strap running across my forehead._ What's that for?_ I tried lifting my hands but they were strapped down, also.

I heard a door open, followed by soft footsteps. Dr. Davidoff came into view and my earlier thoughts vanished.

"Hello, Chloe." He said, flashing me a half-hearted smile.

"What do you want?" I snapped.

He put his hands up defensively. "I just want to talk. I want to apologize for the incident on Mr. Carson's property a few nights ago. My team was…out of line."

"Out of line? No shit! You tried to kill us!" I screamed.

"Whatever the case me be, that's not the way I wanted them to handle it. We're doing all of this to help you. To help you all understand your powers. And let me assure you, that if you cooperate, everyone will be released."

His mouth twitched, giving him away. "Everyone?" I asked.

"Well…everyone except Mr. Souza of course. He will be dealt with…" he struggled to find the right word. "...properly."

At that, I lost it. I flailed around, struggling against my restraints. His eyebrows raised and with a snap of his fingers, two men rushed in and pinned me down. Dr. Davidoff leaned over top of me, looking me in the eyes.

"Why don't we take a walk." He said, a sinister smile on his face.

The two men undid my restraints and began to cuff me, but Dr. Davidoff stopped them.

"I can take it from here." He said, shoeing them away.

He grabbed my arm, leading me out of the room and down the hall. After a maze of turns, he led me into a room with a large window. I let out a whimper when I saw who was on the other side. A strangled whisper escaped my lips.

"Derek."

He was sitting on the floor, unconscious, his ankles and wrists chained to the wall. He was shirtless and his chest was covered in horrific cuts and bruises. Blood was running from a gash on his temple down to his jaw and he had a black eye.

Dr. Davidoff walked up next to me. "He's an animal, Chloe. That's all he is and that's all he'll ever be. That's why he has to be taken care of. He's too dangerous to be in the outside world. You should know that, seeing as he hurt you, right?"

My head jerked up in surprise. "What are you talking about?" I snapped.

"The bruise. On your back. He did that, didn't he?"

"No! I mean—he…yes. But he didn't mean to. He would never hurt me on purpose." I said, frowning.

"You don't know that Chloe. He could be fine one minute, and then the next you could be wishing you had taken my word for it."

As he spoke, Liz flickered into view behind him. A gasp rose in my throat but I swallowed it quickly. She quietly grabbed a chair from the back of the room and raised it above her head. She brought it down onto his skull with a _whack_ and he crumpled to the floor. I stared at her feat in amazement, lost in my own thoughts. Her voice snapped me back into reality.

"Chloe, go! You don't have much time."

"Thank you." I said, turning around and making for the door that separated Derek from me. I grabbed the handle and jiggled it.

"Liz! It's locked!" I yelled.

I turned around just in time to see the chair flying across the room. A deafening crash erupted as the chair made contact with the window, followed by a tinkling sound as the shards of glass his the floor.

"Hurry! Someone's definitely going to have heard that." Liz proclaimed.

I jumped through the opening, not even noticing my own pain when I cut my hand on the ledge. I ran to Derek and tried shaking him back into consciousness.

"Derek, please wake up." I cried. "Please…I can't do this alone. I-I need you." Tears started running down my cheeks, blurring my vision. "Derek…I love you…pl-please w-wake up."

When he didn't budge, I threw my arms around him and cried into his neck, letting my tears run down his bare chest. Then, I heard the clank of the chains moving and his chest heaved under me. I moved back and his eyes began to flicker open.

"Ugh. My head." He muttered to himself.

His eyes opened and landed on me. "Chloe! What are you do—"

"No time for that." I said, wiping the tears away. "We have to go. Where is the key to unlock these?" I asked, gesturing at the chains.

He winced, rubbing his temple. "Sorry, my head is throbbing. Um, I think Dr. Davidoff has—"

I didn't even let him finish before I turned around and bolted through the opening, landing next to Davidoff. As I fished through his pockets, a stampede of footsteps echoed down the hall.

"She's in here!" someone shouted.

I found the keys and dashed back into the other room. But my foot caught on the ledge, sending me sailing to the ground. The keys flew out of my hand and slid across the room, just out of Derek's reach.

As I stood up, Derek's eyes widened. "Chloe! Look out!" he yelled.

Too late. I suddenly felt as if I was being run over by a train. Or, at least that's what I imagined being run over by a train would feel like. After a few seconds, the tidal wave of pain ceased and I collapsed to the floor. My whole body was trembling and I could feel my consciousness slowly slipping away. I heard the _click clack _ of heels as Mrs. Enright climbed through the window and came into view.

She knelt down and, grabbing a chunk of my hair, yanked my head up to look at Derek. He was standing up now, pushing against his restraints, every muscle in his body screaming.

"Aw. Look at the little lone wolf, whimpering for his bitch!" she spat, yanking my hair even harder, making me yelp.

Derek let out a menacing growl. She let go and I fell back to the floor.

She slowly made her way towards him. "Ooh, scary. What are you going to do? Lick me to death?" Her face was now inches from his. "You're such a waste of a supernatural. The only reason Kit even took you home, was because he pitied your worthless soul."

Derek lunged forward, slamming his head into hers. She stumbled back, clutching her head.

"You bastard!" she yelled. Flinging her hand forward, she let her perfectly manicured nails tear into his cheek, leaving him with four blazing red scratches.

"Look at me." She said. When he didn't comply, she jerked his head up. "I said, look at me! Like I said…worthless. Kit won't have to deal with you pretty soon. You're going to be put down…for the animal you are." She let go of his face and glanced at me, eyes lighting up. "Or, I have an even better idea. You can watch me kill your little necro girlfriend. And you won't be able to do a thing about it." She snarled.

Kneeling down, she whispered into my ear. "Such a waste. You had so much potential. Look at the upside though. You can visit your mom." She sneered. "And just for the record, she didn't die in a car crash. Let's just say someone…zapped the life out of her." She laughed, examining her own hands.

Anger raged inside of me. I wanted to kill her. Send her where she belonged. But I didn't even have enough strength to lift a finger. Instead I just let the tears flow, making my eyes sting. She stood up and the train ran me over again, this time sending me into an abyss of darkness.


	8. Chapter 8: Into the Celestial Boundary

Chapter 8

_ The noises came reeling back, a whirlwind of snarls and clanking metal. I sat up, gasping for air, and opened my eyes. Derek was screaming in rage, fighting against his restraints. Giving up, he grabbed the chains and began pulling on them furiously, every muscle bulging. Slowly but surely, the metal plates that connected the chains to the wall began to pull free. He gave one more yank and the chains ripped from the drywall._

_ He stood there, chest heaving, eyes aimed at the floor, a growl emitting with each exhale. His eyes flickered up and his expression was angry…wild, even. He lunged forward, whipping the chains in the air, and caught them around Mrs. Enright's neck. Pulling them taut, he lifted her into the air and slammed her against the wall. He growled at her as she gasped for air._

_ "Who's the monster here?" he bellowed. "You just killed my one reason to live. And now…you're going to pay for it!" he said menacingly._

_ Hearing that, I ran to him. "Derek, stop! It's okay. I'm not—"_

_ I put my hand out, but it didn't make contact with his arm. I passed right through him and fell to the ground. Standing up, I moved back around Derek and found what I hadn't noticed earlier. A strangled whimper escaped my lips._

_ My body lay on the floor in front of me, no signs of life whatsoever. Dead? I couldn't be dead._

_ "Chloe? What's going on, I—"_

_ Liz froze, glancing at my body and back to me._

_ "No." she whimpered. "You…you can't be…dead." She cried._

_ I turned away, hiding my tears._

_ Mrs. Enright now lay on the floor, not breathing. Derek rushed over to my body and picked me up in his arms, head hanging limp._

_ "Chloe." He cried out, hugging me to his chest. Tears began to well up in his eyes. My hand shot out, yearning to comfort him._

_ He jumped up and ran out of the room._

_ "Chloe! Follow him!" Liz shouted._

_ I jolted to life and pursued him. He was stopped in the hallway, his nose turned up sniffing the air._

_ "Simon." He whispered, taking off down the hall._

_ He smashed through a set of double doors and stopped. He sniffed again testing the air for Simon's scent. He bolted off and we stopped at an unmarked door. Bringing his foot up, he rammed into it, kicking the door clean off its hinges._

_ "Whoa!" a voice yelled from inside._

_ "Simon?" Derek asked, walking into the room._

_ "Derek, what are you do—" he stopped, seeing my limp body in Derek's arms. "No! What happened to her?" he asked as Derek laid me on the floor and kneeled down._

_ "Tori's mom, she…don't worry about it right now. Just help her Simon, please. Is there anything you can do?" he pleaded._

_ "Um, I can try and start her heart back up. You know, like a defibrillator? But my powers might not be strong enough." He said distractedly, still staring at my body._

_ "It's okay, just please…please Simon, I'm begging you. Bring her back. I…I can't live without her." He pleaded, taking my lifeless hand in his._

_ Simon knelt down beside me and placed his fingers over my heart. He pressed down and I heard a sizzling noise as he sent currents of electricity through my body. Nothing. He tried again, but a soft voice drew me away._

_ "Chloe?"_

_ I turned around and a wave of emotions bulldozed into me. I was staring at a woman, probably in her thirties, with beautiful blonde hair and shimmering blue eyes. She was wearing a talisman just like mine._

_ "Mom?" I whispered, taking a step forward._

_ She smiled. "Hello, sweetie."_

_ "Wh-what are you doing here?"_

_ "Liz told me you were here. I met here when she first arrived at the hospital and when she found you like this," she said gesturing to the scene behind me. "she came to me."_

_ "Mom, I-I'm so confused. And scared. Mrs. Enright, she…before she killed me she said that you didn't die in a car crash. Did…did she kill you?" I asked._

_ She nodded, frowning._

_ "But…why? How did she even know you?"_

_ Disappointment washed over her face. "Chloe, you have to understand that everything I did was for you. After what happened to you uncle, I couldn't let that happen to you. So, when I heard about the Edison Group, I decided to take you there. assured me that everything would be fine. But…a month or so later, I ran into Kit and he said that the group was corrupt and that I needed to get out as soon as possible. So, I took you to Aunt Lauren's house and when I came back here, Mrs. Enright confronted me. She told me that I had made a bad decision in taking you away. She insisted that I bring you back. That you had more potential than any of the other kids. When I refused she attacked me and unfortunately, my powers weren't strong enough to hold her off."_

_ "Whoa, wait! Your powers? You're a supernatural, too?"_

_ She nodded her head. "I'm a witch. Actually, the very thing around your neck has magic in it. I enchanted it so that your powers wouldn't show up until you were ready for them."_

_ I grabbed onto the stone. "So…why has the color changed?" I asked._

_ "I'm not exactly sure. All I can guess is that as the strength of your powers change, it changes too."_

_ Behind me, Simon was still struggling to revive me. My mom took my hand and began walking towards my body._

_ "Mom, I don't think Simon will be able to do anything. I—"_

_ She cut me off. "I know. That's why I'm going to help him."_

_ "Help him? How?" I asked, raising my eyebrows._

_ She chuckled softly, patting my arm. "Don't worry about that. It's not your time to die, hon." She turned to me, pulling me into a hug. "I love you, so much." She whispered into my ear._

_ She pulled out of the hug and walked over to Simon, placing her hand where his was. She looked up at me one last time._

_ "Chloe, as soon as you come back, get out of here. Liz and I will help you guys if you run into trouble. Kit and Lauren are two floors down in room 426. You can use your necklace to summon me." She gave me a sad smile. "Good luck."_

_ When her hand pressed down with Simon's, darkness came rushing back._

I sat up abruptly, gasping for air. A strong hand grasped my shoulder. Derek was staring at me, a look of horror and relief on his face. His frantic expression turned into a smile and I jumped into his arms.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered, stroking my head.

I pulled out of the hug and frowned at him. "Why are you sorry?" I asked.

"What Mrs. Enright did to you…it was my fault. I shouldn't have provoked her."

I placed my hand on his cheek and giggled. "I love you." I said, planting my lips on his.

We got lost in the kiss until a timid cough sounded. I pulled back, blushing. Simon was staring at us, one eyebrow raised.

"Um, we should probably go." I said shyly.

Derek stood up and pulled me to my feet.

"Okay, so your dad and my aunt are two floors down in room 426." I said, heading out of the room.

"How do you know that?" Simon asked.

"My mom told me."

Your mom? How—"

I cut Simon off. "I'll explain later, just come on."

As we rounded the corner, the elevator dinged and the doors opened. I threw my arm out and Derek slammed into it, grunting in protest. Four men rushed out of the elevator and came our way. There was nowhere to hide and we wouldn't make any progress going back the way we came. Right when I thought they were going to spot us, Liz caught their attention by rolling a cart down the opposite hallway. They caught the bait and began following it.

We rushed to the elevator and I slammed the number 4 with my fist. As it settled onto the fourth floor, I heard grunts and thumping from the other side. When the doors opened, three men lay unconscious on the floor. My mom was standing there, her arms crossed, a smirk on her face.

"Nice!" I laughed.

We made our way to room 426. When we got there, I turned around.

"Are you guys ready? Once we get them, we need to get out as quickly as possible."

I was so nervous that my hand was shaking. Simon instinctively grabbed it, giving it a friendly squeeze. Derek turned to the door, and reared his foot back. With a crash, he kicked it away. The dust cleared and we sighed in relief, as Kit and Lauren came into view.


End file.
